City of Sacramento Fire Department EMS Division

Review: please do not view this claim as an insurance claim - it is a matter of a company standing behind what an employee had said and accept responsibility. In short - a friend of my son's had called 911/ambulance since my son was passed out/intoxicated. After he called 911, he called me. I told him that my husband and I were on our way ... and to tell the ambulance to turn around when it got there. While I was on the phone with my son's friend [redacted] - the ambulance showed up. The EMTs said since they were there, they would look at him ... they said they should take him. I had [redacted] ask the EMT if they were preferred providers to our insurance and the EMT said yes! (we knew to ask since last year we learned the hard way when our daughter needed an ambulance) Since we were told they were Preferred providers to our insurance, we told them to go ahead and take him. We were only about 10 mins from where my son was - so we were at the hospital quickly. The ER doctor said he just needed to sober up - so I do not see the "emergency" that the EMT made it out to be saying "they needed to take him" but it was done. Then we get our insurance claim showing that the ambulance WAS NOT a preferred provider and we were billed for a non preferred provider rate. I contacted the ambulance with a dispute, but was told that EMTs do not know billing - and saying that "They understand my frustration...." I owe the full amount. This was by [redacted] EMS division. I have witnesses who heard us ask the EMT if they were preferred providers of our insurance, and that he said YES.I do not feel I should be billed for his error of not knowing billing information - If he did not know, he should have said he did not know - but he answered YES.

Product_Or_Service: 03/14/2013

Account_Number: XXXXXXXX

Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Other (requires explanation)

I want the bill to be rated as a Preferred Provider rather than a Non-Preferred Provider.I do not feel I should owe the difference between a Preferred Provider and a Non-Preferred Provider cost, since we did ask their employee if they were Preferred Providers to our insurance ... and he answered YES. The Fire Department should honor his answer to us. They also need to either educate their field employees about insurance or educate them not to answer questions about insurance. Thank you

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

This case has been reviewed and as stated in a letter from our agency to the customer, dated June 13, 2013, the request to have these fees waived is denied. The service was provided and as such the charges incurred needs to be paid. The personnel that attended to the patient in this case did what was necessary for the patient by transporting them to the hospital. Our personnel have a legal obligation and responsibility to provide the best patient care possible, whether the patient has medical coverage or not, and that is what was done in this case. The fact of whether our agency was or was not a preferred provider to the customer's insurance is irrelevant. This patient could not legally be left on scene and was appropriately transported per protocol. Furthermore this patient was not a minor therefore the customer had no legal right to dictate whether or not this patient should be transported, this is dictated by the judgment of the emergency crews on scene, the patient's consent or implied consent.

As a result of Proposition 26, our agency is unable to waive fees for services provided. We may be able to write off the debt as a loss at some point if it is not paid (and it has gone through the usual collection process), but this is not the same as a "waiver," which is impermissible under Prop. 26 (since our agency is collecting from other customers for the same service). The offer that was made in a letter to the customer to setup an interest free payment plan, is the best that can be done in this case. I am sorry for the frustration this situation has caused this customer but other than what has already been offered, there is nothing more that can be done.

Consumer's Final Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

The main complaint here is that we told the ambulance that they were not needed since we were already in route ... they said since they were there, they would take a look at him. They said they should take him, so we asked if they were preferred providers to our insurance - their staff/EMTs told use yes. So this is a case of being told a lie - if they did not no billing procedures - then they should not have stated they were preferred providers to our insurance. It is false advertising!! It is like walking into a store and buying a product for $50, and then being sent a bill later for an additional $800 saying the cashier was mistaken ... so pay the additional bill. I have contacted the ambulance company and said I'm willing to pay the preferred provider fee, but I do not feel I should be billed nor have to pay the non-provider fee. Their employee gave false information and they should be responsible for his answer to us.

Review: I was in a car accident April 2011 city of Sacramento fire Department billed me for it I forwarded it to the insurance company. the insurance company sent them a check and it was cashed for this payment over 2 years ago. Since then I have been in collections for it and I have tried contacting them with no luck I want this off my credit because it should have never went to collections because it was paid and cashed promptly. Desired Settlement: I want this taken off my credit report.